M Night Shyalaman’s The Happening, starring Mark Wahlberg

I like Mark Wahlberg, but perhaps he should stick with movies that area bit more action based, in this one he just looked confused most of the time, but then I guess it is an M Night Shyamalan movie, which can be a bit “confusing”.

I’m not a big fan of M Night Shyalaman’s movies, although I’ve watched most, this one just seemed to be more “confused and going nowhere” than usual, I’ve enjoyed previous movies of his more than this one.

The “shocking” bits don’t really shock, and it really doesn’t work as a “scary” movie, so apart from reminding us that we’re really not looking after the planet very well, this movie doesn’t seem to do much.

Not one that I’ll be adding to the collection or watching again anytime soon!

Taken Movie on DVD Review, starring Liam Neeson

I enjoyed this more than I expected to, whilst it’s not in the same league as the “Bourne” movies, it is a solid action movie that zips along at a good pace.

The plot doesn’t throw up any truly surprising twists, but Liam Neeson makes the most of what there is to work with and makes a convincing “p’d off dad”.

The action does have a few “that was convenient” moments, but isn’t over the top, and there are a couple of classic moments in it, like Liam Neeson telling the kidnappers that he will find them and kill them when his daughter is first taken.

Would I watch it again?

Probably, it’s not a bad movie for after having a few pints at the pub, and I wouldn’t switch over if I caught it on TV sometime.

Transsiberian, starring Woody Harrelson & Ben Kingsley

I was expecting a lot more from this movie, there’s some good actors in it, but the plot just doesn’t really deliver, it’s just too predictable.

The plot “twists” were easily spotted and the acting didn’t manage to make up for this, perhaps because there wasn’t that much for them to really work with, especially as the characters are a touch stereotyped with no real depth.

There’s a few bits of nice scenery to see, but the movie kinda of plods along without gaining the pace that you expect. The action scenes aren’t over the top or unbelievable, but also somehow fail to deliver any real excitement.

Not a movie that I’ll be bothering to add to my collection…

10000 BC Movie on DVD Review

I didn’t go in to this movie (on dvd) expecting much, and yet it still managed to disappoint, in just about every way possible…

for a movie that’s going to have to rely on special effects to a high degree, they really did suck!

the Sabretooth in the pit was so unbelievable, both the visuals and the storyline, even my kids laughed, and they’re usually pretty easy to keep happy in this kind of film!

I guess 10,000BC is an kids action/adventure movie, so you don’t expect a compelling storyline, but the action and pace of the film never really grabs you either, so I guess the only saving grace is that it’s not a long movie…

if you haven’t watched this yet, I’d recommend skipping it.

Transformers 2 Movie Review

I’ve just been watching a couple of video reviews on youtube from some muppets slagging off Transformers 2 big time, as far as I’m concerned these guys (supposed “adults”) are total idjits!

I saw the film a couple of days ago with my kids and we ALL enjoyed it!

there’s some thing for everyone, Shia Lebouf for the girls, Megan Fox for us lads, and a healthy dose of pretty cool special effects and action.

The humor is a bit predictable at times, but it’s not really supposed to be a comedy after all…

The plots nothing amazing, but who’s really expecting it to be..?

this is a kids action movie, nothing more, and as that it works!

the 3 of us came out of it with the opinion that it was better than the first, which is uncommon enough with sequels, especially as the first was pretty good too, as a kids action movie…

our verdict – it’s good enough to get the DVD when it comes out and watch it again.

Terminator Salvation is the first of the terminator movies that I’ve bothered going to the cinema to watch since the original Terminator.

and I have to admit I’m still in two minds as to whether it was worth the price of the ticket!

don’t get me wrong, the special effects and action scenes are wicked!

but the plot is “lite” to weak and the last 15-20 mins had me and my friend laughing out loud…

why oh why did they try and put some “depth” in to what is essentially an action movie, it just doesn’t fit and it’s badly done!

Jimmy Carr summed it up nicely on a recent episode of “8 out of 10 Cats” with a joke referencing The Wizard of Oz, about how the tin man suddenly realizes he doesn’t need a heart after all…

If you’re a big fan of the Terminator movies then you’ll probably love it for the action scenes, right up to the out of place and “melodramatic” closing scenes.

If you’re not a big Terminator fan then wait for the DVD on rental and save yourself some cash.

I’ve been looking forward to the new Bond movie a lot more than any previous Bond film I can remember.

Casino Royal was a total change from the old style and I wanted to see if Daniel Craig’s new Bond would continue in the same gritty and more realistic “Borne” style, fortunatly it has!

There’s no unbelievable, unrealistic super weapons, or gadgets, just Bond’s implacable resolution to get the job done, and he sure does take a beating along the way, although nothing quiet so unpleasant as the torture scene in Casino Royal that made me squirm more than a little…

The movie opens with a fast paced car chase and rolls straight in to a Borne style rooftop chase. The action is fast paced, but still believable, at least compared to previous films.

and of course there’s Olga Kurylenko, who I last saw in Hitman (must watch that again), who brings the required “Bond girl” element to the whole affair.

I like the new style, heck, even my kids like it, especially after some of the silliness in the Brosnan Bond movies.

There’s no unexpected plot twists or real surprises, but there’s plenty of plot threads left for the next movie to follow on, so bring it on!

Quantum Of Solace Review

My kids managed to drag me away from my desk this weekend to go watch the new Inidana Jones Movie, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Although it’s well over a decade since the last Indiana film, my kids have seen the others on TV enough times that they’re big fans, but I admit I was wondering if Harrison Ford could still pull it off, as he’s not exactly a spring chicken anymore…

I shouldn’t have been worried!

The movie is classic Iniana and I enjoyed it just as much as the kids.

Harrison Fordis joined by Cate Blanchett as the “baddy”, as well as one of my favorite UK actors, Ray Winstone, John Hurt and up and coming Shia LaBeouf, so there’s an excellent cast who are also on top form.

There’s the typical “high octane” Inidana style actions scenes, which just keep coming, and, as in the prvious movies, there’s a constant flow of “one liners” and gags to keep you laughing as well.

The movie has already broken opening weekend records here in the UK, possibly helped by it being a typically wet british bank holiday weekend, but I can see this movie racking in a LOT of cash for Steven Spielberg, as it really is a quality movie with all round appeal to young and old, the perfect “family” movie..

hmm, I guess you’re probably not here to find out why I haven’t posted a movie review since Feb, so I’m not going to bore you with the life stuff that happens now and again, we all have it, better I just get back in to the purpose of this blog…

oh, and my apologies for being a movie slacker recently!
🙂

So, having got my divorce and house move (see how I still managed to sneak it in anyway..) out of the way I can start enjoying going to the movies again, espoecially as it’s now in walking distance.

My first movie since Feb was Deception, and I didn’t manage to find a review on http://bbc.co.uk/movies/ it was kind of a blind viewing, but I was feeeling fairly confidant that I’d enjoy it as it’s Hugh Jackman, Ewen McGregor and Michelle Williams, who is (imho) more than a little hot…

Which turned out to be more important than I realised, as there were a couple of points in the movie where I could have easily lost interest if it weren’t for Miss Williams.

That doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the movie, but I guess the title gives away what you’re expecting, so I was looking for the twists, turns and “deception”, and well, it wasn’t hard to spot or anticipate before the event.

Having said that, the ending wasn’t what I was expecting, and whilst it wasn’t a “hollywood” style ending, which I would normally consider as a good thing, the ending didn’t quite sit right, it seemed a little too contrived, almost like they decided not to do the hollywood ending, then changed their minds…

Early on in the movie there’s a scene where Hugh Jackman and Ewen McGregor are sitting in an office sharing a “herbal” smoke, and whilst it is funny, it doesn’t quite ring true somehow, it felt too “scripted” for me to “buy in” to the scene and enjoy it, and the rest of the film seemed to follow the same theme, it was almost brilliant, but never quite reached it’s potential.

I don’t regret watching it on the big screen, but I think it’s a film that is more naturally suited to the small screen, so if you missed it at the cinema, don’t worry, grab it on dvd and I think you’ll enjoy it, just don’t expect to work hard on the “deception” twists…

What can I say, this movie shows just how good it can be to take a popular old comic and turn it in to a movie.

I’ll put my hand up right now as a big comic fan, I don’t still collect (too busy blogging nowadays), but I used to collect comics big time, I still have a large collection of X-men, Spidey, 2000AD etc.

We’ve had some excellent comic to movie conversions over the last few years, the X-Men and Spiderman being good examples, but who else liked Hell Boy? I did…
🙂

So there’s two questions I wanted answered from the movie…

a. is IronMan a good conversion from the comic?
&
b. Is it a good movie that non comic fans would enjoy?

well, I’m not going to try and keep you in suspense. 🙂

a. whilst I enjoyed the original ironman comic, it wasn’t one of my favorites, but the movie changed my mind.

I enjoyed both the x-men movies and the spiderman movies, but IronMan beats them!

It’s got kick ass action, although perhaps not quite enough, and it’s got wicked humor, AND it’s even got a plot, well more than a lot of hollywood movies nowadays…

It is true to the comic, or at least true enough for my taste, and there’s so much room for sequels they’ve gotta be done, I hope!

b. I decided the best way to text out “b” was to drag a mate along who’s never been in to comics, and did he enjoy it..?

He told me tonight that he’d happily go and watch it at the cinema again, and he doesn’t like spending money to movies, let alone the same one twice, so I take that as a big vote of approval from the non “comic” aspect.

and I have to agree, if I’d never read the comic it wouldn’t matter, it’s a damn good movie.

Robert Downey Jnr plays Tony Stark to perfection, he’s got the right kind of dry wit to pull it off, and he takes immense fun out of being a super hero, instead of the usual soul searching and angst, Tony Stark actually enjoys it, which ads a great element to the film.
It’s remenicent of the first batman movie where Batman was played by Michael Keaton, who physically was not perfect for the role, but pulled it off big time because of the mad look in his eyes and his “presence” in the character.

Rob does the same thing, but perhaps even better…

Jeff Daniels was also a surprise, I’ve not seen him do a bad guy before and he did it well, although it took me a moment or two to even recognise him.

Then of course there’s Gwyneth Paltrow, who makes Tony Stark’s PA, Pepper Potts, not just very attractive, but also smart, sexy and a believable part of the plot. I did mention that this is a “comic” conversion movie that actually has a plot didn’t I..?

The only negative I can think of to fire at this movie is that it could have had more action, there were some quieter moments, they weren’t wasted or boring, but IronMan could have kicked some more ass…